TMJ TREATMENT: CHAD

CASE STUDY DETAILS

PATIENT BACKGROUND

Chad Describes His Background

Chad arrived at Dr. Ueckert’s office very unsatisfied with the look and feel of his teeth. Their poor appearance made him self conscious, and caused physical discomfort. He initially requested a consultation on the possibility of cosmetically restoring his teeth with veneers. As soon as Dr. Ueckert examined this patient, he was certain there were underlying orthopedic issues. Chad’s teeth demonstrated advanced incisal wear and tissue recession.

BITE REHABILITATION

BEFORE

AFTER

Through a series of questions, more details of the patient’s struggle were brought to light. Chad admitted he had suffered from teeth grinding at night for over 15 years. A previous dentist had created a Night Guard, which Chad completely chewed through in less than 6 months. He mentioned that he believed his teeth didn’t fit together correctly. He also revealed he suffered from pain, which he felt was completely unrelated to his dental health.

Chad was dealing with pain encompassing the head, neck and shoulders. Specifically, he experienced discomfort with massater muscles on the right side of his face, along with pain behind his temples, in and around the ears, and with the temporomandibular joint. Chad would suffer additional symptoms during day to day life, but the most concerning was the loss of ability to open his mouth.

Each morning, Chad would wake up with stifling pain though out his body without knowledge of the cause. He suspected old high school sports injuries, combined with the stress of nightly teeth clenching and grinding, were to blame. Dr. Ueckert recommended a neuromusuclar approach to resolving all of Chad’s health issues. Even though Chad was not completely convinced, he allowed Dr. Ueckert to proceed with the treatment methods that were suggested.

Chad Describes His Expectations

COURSE OF TREATMENT

Dr. Ueckert used neuromuscular instrumentation to measure Chad’s bite and jaw position. The TENS unit was implemented to relax facial and jaw muscles, in order to find the patient’s proper orthopedic bite position. Once the proper bite position was realized, impressions were taken and an orthotic was created. An orthotic is a dental appliance designed to perform a therapeutic or corrective function to re-align the Mandibular “Lower Jaw” back to the body’s natural position.

Bite Rehabilitation – Lower Impression

Neuromuscular Orthotic Phase 1

Bite Rehabilitation Bonded Orthotic

Bite Rehabilitation In Process

BITE REHABILITATION WORKING

Chad’s bite was opened slightly and over the course of 9 months, the orthotic stabilized this new corrected bite position. During the stabilizing period, many of Chad’s symptoms began to disappear. His total body posture improved with the new bite position, and the pain and discomfort he had experienced were no longer present.

NM PhaseI ChadB Rightside KIOS

KIOS Facial Analyzer

With dysfunctional symptoms alleviated, Dr. Ueckert used porcelain crowns to finalize the orthotic bite position. The KIOS facial analyzer was utilized to assess mid-line measurements, and ensure the crowns are created to follow natural, anatomically correct positioning. Wax models of Chad’s crowns were created to confirm proper articulation in the neuromuscular bite position.

Wax Model for Crown Restoration

Wax Model for Crown Restoration

Lower Bonded Orthotic

Lower Bonded Orthotic

TREATMENT OUTCOME

Chad Describes His Experience

Chad Describes the Results

BEFORE & AFTER TREATMENT

The treatment was finalized with the placement of a complete set of porcelain crowns. This gave Chad the aesthetically pleasing look he had always wanted. The added benefit Chad had not counted on was complete and total lack of previous symptoms. He was sleeping better at night, and waking up in the morning feeling rested with no soreness. He experienced improved total body posture from the head and neck position through the S/I spinal joint located in the pelvis. At the completion of treatment, Chad was 100% symptom free and pain free.